I watched the movie “FIREPROOF” twice, and the end of the movie moved my heart each time. However, I realize that this is just a movie, but I truly wish that the end results were a reality, especially in the case of domestic violence and abuse. Nonetheless, God is awesome, and He does answer prayers – those which are according to His will and purpose in our lives. Selfish prayers go unanswered.

…………………………….

Caleb was selfish. He possessed the King of the castle mentality, and expected to be exalted with unending adoration from his wife. True, he worked a profession that could take his life at any time, and faced danger saving both lives and property. However, Caleb thought that his heroics outside of his home were worthy of respect from his wife, and her job was to lift him up emotionally with praise. When he did not get the attention he thought he deserved, he was angry.

…………………………….

…………………………….

His wife Catherine was angry as well. Her discontent led to seeking a divorce for many reasons. The most damaging reason for Catherine wanting out of the marriage was pornography – Caleb’s insatiable desire to satisfy his sexual fantasies through strangers online. One day she confronted Caleb as she entered their home. He quickly tried to shut down the porn site he was visiting – but Catherine caught him. As the saying goes, he was “busted.”

…………………………….

Catherine: “Did you clear your history?”

Caleb: “What?”

Catherine: “Did you wipe the web sites off so nobody can see where you’ve been?”

Catherine: “Honorable?” What were you just looking at Caleb? What was on that computer screen? Is that honorable?”

…………………………….

She told her husband that his “sweet” gestures to change his ways “mean nothing.” In reference to his porn watching – “That’s the kind of man you’ve become when you are alone. That’s what you default to, and there is nothing honorable about that!”

Catherine confiding in her mom: “You don’t know what I’ve been competing with. He makes me feel so humiliated. And he doesn’t even know it.”

“When did I stop being good enough for him?”

…………………………….

In my opinion, the main problems within this marriage were selfishness (Caleb) – and resentment (Catherine). Caleb’s father challenged him to complete a “Love Dare” within “40-days” – giving their broken marriage a chance to heal. Even his best efforts to show change were rejected, for Caleb had not dealt with the issue of pornography which made Catherine feel competitive with the harlots in cyber space, and obviously damaged intimacy between them.

…………………………….

Caleb’s choosing to gain intimate satisfaction through pornography made his wife feel inferior to strange women on a computer screen. Pornography is a form of cheating on your spouse. Many men leave their bedrooms in the middle of the night to embrace the devil’s lure to illicit cyber-sex. The internet makes it easy for porn lovers to watch this filth in the comfort of their own homes. Unfortunately, children are forced to participate in this evil for the sick pleasures of warped minded adults.

…………………………….

The father’s “Love Dare” mentioned “parasites” which are anything that infiltrates the home and destroys relationships. A few examples are alcoholism, violence, drug addiction, and of course pornography. When Caleb reached “Day 23” and the challenge to rid his life of the “parasites” that “promise pleasure” but “steal away loyalty from your partner and destroy your marriage” he struggled. “Parasites” not only destroy our homes and relationships, but ultimately us. Caleb asked out loud as he struggled with ridding his life of porn, “Why is this so hard?”

…………………………….

Caleb and Catherine were not Christians in the beginning of the movie. However, Caleb struggled nonetheless with a spiritual stronghold. Meaning, Satan’s grip on Caleb’s soul through cyber-sex had tightened to the point that release involved an inner struggle. He overcame, but not without help from God. I don’t want to spoil the movie by telling you everything that happened. So, I will just say that these two souls ultimately let Christ into their hearts and their marriage was saved, as well as their souls. You will have to watch the movie to see how God moved in their lives.

…………………………….

Pornography destroys the beautiful intimacy God created and intended between husband and wife. It brings the intimacy down to a level of degradation and filthiness. Not only are holy women of God sickened by their porn watching husband’s sexual requests – women who are non-Christians also experience humiliation.

…………………………….

Wherefore – In view of the fact that God has begotten us for his own service; in view of the fact that excited feeling tends only to wrong, let us lay aside all that is evil, and submit ourselves wholly to the influence of truth.

Lay apart all filthiness – The word here rendered filthiness, occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, It means properly filth; and then is applied to evil conduct considered as disgusting or offensive. Sin may be contemplated as a wrong thing; as a violation of law; as evil in its nature and tendency, and therefore to be avoided; or it may be contemplated as disgusting, offensive, loathsome. To a pure mind, this is one of its most odious characteristics; for, to such a mind, sin in any form is more loathsome than the most offensive object can be to any of the senses. Barnes’ Notes on the BibleJames 1:21

…………………………….

“This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you from now on walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over to lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ; If so be that you have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That you put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.Ephesians 4:14-24

“Men, including boys ages 12 to 17, account for the majority of porn consum­ers. For example, 82 percent of Playboy magazine consumers, and 77 percent of visitors to pornographic web sites are men. But pornography is a growing prob­lem among women as well. According to Nielsen NetRatings, nearly one in three visitors to “adult” web sites is female.” 2

…………………………….

1 Corinthians 6:9 “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders.”

…………………………….

“It is not surprising that many psychologists call internet pornography the new “crack cocaine” when you note the combination of the power of pornography with the ready, 24/7 availability of pornography on any computer, much of it free, accessible in the privacy and anonymity of the home.”

“Pornographic depictions of the sexuality of women and children distort the truth about desires of women and children, and legitimize men’s sense of entitlement, and use of force, violence, and degrading acts by the male actors.”

“Some of the messages of pornography teach beliefs and behaviors. Some of these behaviors are pathological, illegal, or both. The illegal behaviors are rape, child molestation, pedophilia, prostitution, domestic violence, sexual harassment, and some paraphilias (e.g., sexual deviances such as exhibitionism, voyeurism, and bestiality). Some of pornography’s messages about relationships, sexuality, and women may be damaging, even if the pornography is not illegal or pathological.”

…………………………….

Summary

The large body of research on pornography reveals that it functions as a teacher of, a permission-giver for, and a trigger of many negative behaviors and attitudes that can severely damage not only the users but many others, including strangers. The damage is seen in men, women, and children, and in both married and single adults. It involves pathological behaviors, illegal behaviors, and some behaviors that are both illegal and pathological. Pornography is an equal opportunity and very lethal toxin.

How Pornography Destroys the Family

By Alysse M. ElHage

“Men and women need each other, and society needs men and women to come together to form strong families based on mutual love, respect, trust and commit­ment in order to raise the next genera­tion, who will be tomorrowʼs husbands and wives, and fathers and mothers. By exploiting the natural sexual attraction between males and females, pornography chips away at these values and attacks the family in the place where it is the most vulnerable. There is nothing harmless about pornography in any form, and state and national lawmakers have a public duty to do all they can to protect families from the destructive effects of an industry that profits from the sexual exploitation of human beings.”

In my last article, I discussed how pornography’s scourge scorches the soul of the innocent-the children and teens. Theirs is the most tragic situation of all because they suffer needlessly as a result of the lust, greed and selfishness of others.

But what about the men who get sucked into porn’s cauldron of lust? I certainly would never suggest that their suffering is anything like that of innocent women and children who lay in the wake of pornography addiction. Nor am I suggesting that their actions should be excused or justified. But I do submit that the suffering and misery experienced by men who get pulled into the pornography trap are real and excruciating.

15Peter said to Him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16Jesus said, “Are you still lacking in understanding also? 17“Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? 18“But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. 19“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. 20“These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

4:19 Who being past feeling. Having trampled conscience under foot until it is calloused. Having silenced its admonitions, they give themselves over to lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. To licentiousness and evil.

…………………………….

THE CONSEQUENCE

… “given themselves over-In Ro 1:24 it is, “God gave them up to uncleanness.” Their giving themselves to it was punished in kind, God giving them up to it by withdrawing His preventing grace; their sin thus was made their punishment. They gave themselves up of their own accord to the slavery of their lust, to do all its pleasure, as captives who have ceased to strive with the foe. God gave them up to it, but not against their will; for they give themselves up to it” [Zanchius].

…………………………….

Psalm 81:12 “So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.”

…………………………….

American King James Version
“And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall mourn many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.”

…………………………….

Romans 6:13 “Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.”

…………………………….

Romans 8:13” For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, …”

“Since then he had gone on to be a born-again believer, who loves God and is doing all he can to live for Jesus. He wrote to me explaining that he and his wonderful wife of ten years were having some issues. He was still struggling with the desires and “pictures” in his head after all this time and wanted to recreate those things of the past to make their sex life more interesting. That is the power of sexual imprinting.”

“Pornography has turned men into selfish pigs who have lost the art of making love to a woman. People who struggle with this can be changed through prayer and with God’s help, but they must be very deliberate. The bible tells us we will be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We need to change the way we think so that sex isn’t about being selfish and your spouse isn’t there just for you to be satisfied.”

A 1996 Promise Keepers survey at one of their stadium events revealed that over 50% of the men in attendance were involved with pornography within one week of attending the event.

51% of pastors say cyber-porn is a possible temptation. 37% say it is a current struggle (Christianity Today, Leadership Survey, 12/2001).

Over half of evangelical pastors admits viewing pornography last year.

Roger Charman of Focus on the Family’s Pastoral Ministries reports that approximately 20 percent of the calls received on their Pastoral Care Line are for help with issues such as pornography and compulsive sexual behavior.

In a 2000 Christianity Today survey, 33% of clergy admitted to having visited a sexually explicit Web site. Of those who had visited a porn site, 53% had visited such sites “a few times” in the past year, and 18% visit sexually explicit sites between a couple of times a month and more than once a week.

29% of born again adults in the U.S. feel it is morally acceptable to view movies with explicit sexual behavior (The Barna Group).

57% of pastors say that addiction to pornography is the most sexually damaging issue to their congregation (Christians and Sex Leadership Journal Survey, March 2005).

“With the explosion of smartphones, tablets, iPods and iPads, a growing number of employees find they can’t stay away from salacious sites and images, pulling up X-rated pages on their lunch hour, bathroom breaks and even in the middle of monitoring life-saving surgical equipment.”

“In her work as a psychotherapist, Layden said the erroneous statement she hears most often from perpetrators of sexual violence is that “women exist only to arouse me.”

“That belief is a core belief that fuels sexual violence,” she said. “It’s fueled by all this pornography that is completely pervasive and inundating on the Internet. It is damaging at every level. Every level of business is damaged by this message and by the use of that material on the job.”

NEED HELP BREAKING FREE???

Castimonia is here to help.

Castimonia is a Christ-centered 12-Step Support and Recovery program for sexual impurity or sexual addiction with the goal to achieve a Biblically-based sexual purity. We share our experience, strength, and hope with each other so that we may achieve sexual purity and help others overcome sexual impurity or compulsive sexual behaviors.

Although we believe Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, Christianity is not a requirement for attending meetings or working the 12-step program. We are open to any group or denomination. The only requirement for attendance and participation is the desire to stop compulsive sexual behavior and reach sexual purity.

Therefore, this group is open to any man who struggles with any type of sexual impurity.

There is no cost to attend Castimonia.

Castimonia is a ministry of Merimnao Ministry at The Fellowship at Cinco Ranch